The present invention relates to food processors in general, and more particularly to improvements in food processors of the type wherein any one of several tools can be mounted in a removable bowl to be driven by a prime mover (normally comprising an electric motor) in order to treat one or more foodstuffs. The tools which are used in such food processors include slicing, cutting, dicing, whipping, agitating and/or other tools adapted to receive torque from a prime mover by way of an adapter (which can accept any one of several tools as disclosed in the commonly owned copending patent applications Ser. Nos. 926,864 (continuation of Ser. No. 708,352, now abandoned) 001,253 (continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 926,864) and 645,439, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,672 or each of which has its own hub with coupling means for attachment to the output member of the prime mover (as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,342).
A drawback of presently known food processors is that they lack sufficient versatility. Thus, even though such conventional food processors can accept and can operate with any one of a number of different tools or implements, they are not capable of accepting and operating with certain other tools or implements which are often used in a culinary establishment on a daily basis or even several times a day so that the utilization of such other tools or implements necessitates the purchase of a discrete apparatus with its own prime mover, collecting bowl, controls for the prime mover and others.